In this episode, we sit down with Donald Valoyi—serial entrepreneur, co-founder of Zulzi, and founder of Mavoni Fiber—to unpack his extraordinary journey from software engineer to tech visionary reshaping Africa’s digital economy. Donald shares raw, powerful lessons from building one of South Africa’s most successful quick-commerce platforms and leading a fiber rollout across underserved townships.

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Highlights

🚀 From Software Engineer to Serial Entrepreneur: Donald shares how his passion for tech began at university and how it led to founding and failing early ventures before eventually co-founding Zulzi and Mavoni Fiber.
📉 Lessons from Failure: He recounts a tough but defining chapter—launching an ISP in Ghana with no capital, living in his office basement, and still managing to raise $30M in funding years later.
💡 Zulzi’s Grind to Greatness: From selling textbooks online to becoming Shoprite’s tech partner for the 60/60 app, Donald walks us through how timing, grit, and strategic pivots defined their success.
📡 Fiber for the People: Donald’s mission with Mavoni Fiber is to bring high-speed internet to townships and rural communities, using hybrid infrastructure and lean models to scale where others can’t.
🧠 Investor’s Mindset: Now also a VC partner at Chanzo Capital, Donald explains why entrepreneur-led investing is critical to Africa’s startup ecosystem.

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Key Insights

🛠️ Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish: Donald’s guiding mantra from Steve Jobs has shaped how he navigates risk, opportunity, and reinvention throughout his entrepreneurial journey.
📊 Preparation Meets Opportunity: Zulzi’s partnership with Shoprite succeeded not just because of vision, but because their product was ready—just in time for 2020’s e-commerce explosion.
👥 Founding Teams Matter: Donald emphasizes how co-founders, complementary skills, and early believers helped keep the vision alive through hard times.
🔥 Grit Over Glamour: From working midnight casino shifts to bootstrapping telecom ventures, Donald’s journey is a reminder that entrepreneurship is more sweat than spotlight.
🌍 Pan-African Vision: Having operated in Ghana, South Africa, and across the continent, Donald’s playbook is built for scale—driven by a belief that Africa’s hardest problems are also its biggest opportunities.
💰 Smart Capital: As both an entrepreneur and investor, he calls for founders to have “skin in the game” and solve meaningful problems to attract long-term capital.
🔄 Adaptability is Everything: Whether it’s pivoting Zulzi’s business model or engineering new ways to lower fiber costs, Donald’s story shows that iteration is the path to breakthrough.

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Vision for the Future
Donald is building toward a future where every African home—no matter the income bracket—has access to affordable, high-speed internet. His story is a masterclass in long-term thinking, bold execution, and doing hard things in hard places.

Whether you’re a startup founder, tech builder, or aspiring investor, this episode is packed with wisdom you won’t find in textbooks.

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In this episode, Julian Kubel and Lebogang Mothibe, co-founders of Butan, share their remarkable journey of building a streetwear brand rooted in African identity. They delve into the challenges of balancing creativity and business, the importance of cultural preservation, and their vision for taking African fashion to the global stage.

Highlights

🌍 Reclaiming Identity Through Fashion: Butan is a rearrangement of the word "Bantu," symbolizing a reclamation of history and a celebration of African heritage.
🎨 Fusing Creativity and Business: Julian and Lebogang explore how engineering, music, and artistry shaped their approach to designing a brand that resonates with the youth.
💡 Learning from Grassroots Entrepreneurship: From selling mixtapes on the streets to launching a fashion label, they share how grassroots experiences informed their entrepreneurial philosophy.
👕 The Art of Subculture: Butan’s designs capture the essence of hip-hop culture and Pan-Africanism, creating a unique identity in the competitive streetwear market.
🎯 Building a Scalable Brand: They emphasize the importance of creating a brand that thrives independently of its founders, focusing on the promise of the product rather than personalities.

Key Insights

🛠️ Creativity in Business: Julian and Lebogang highlight that creativity exists in all aspects of entrepreneurship, from product design to problem-solving.
📊 Grassroots Growth: The duo discusses how starting small and staying connected to their community helped them build a loyal customer base.
👥 Teamwork and Vision: Their partnership exemplifies the power of complementary skills in turning a creative idea into a sustainable business.
🌍 Pan-African Representation: Butan’s Pan-African ethos is reflected in its use of colors, patterns, and storytelling, making it a brand for the continent and beyond.
💡 Sustainability and Legacy: By focusing on scalability and brand longevity, they aim to create a lasting impact that outlives their involvement.

Vision for the Future
Julian and Lebogang envision Butan as more than a fashion brand—it’s a movement that preserves and celebrates African culture through storytelling and design. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a fan of streetwear, this episode will inspire you to blend passion and purpose in everything you do.

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In this episode, Melvyn Lubega, co-founder of GO1 and partner at Breega, shares his remarkable journey of building South Africa’s first unicorn company. He dives into the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, the lessons learned along the way, and how a commitment to solving African challenges with technology has shaped his career.

Highlights

🌍 Building a Unicorn: Melvyn details how GO1 grew into a $2 billion company, attracting $450M in investment from global giants like Microsoft Ventures and SoftBank.
📈 Scaling with Purpose: From humble beginnings to employing over 800 people globally, Melvyn shares the inflection points that fueled GO1’s growth.
🤝 The Power of Partnerships: Learn why Melvyn believes in co-founders and teamwork as crucial for success in entrepreneurship.
💡 Solving African Problems with Technology: Melvyn discusses his vision of creating businesses that tackle Africa’s unique challenges while generating impact and opportunities.
📚 Lessons in Lifelong Learning: With a strong emphasis on education, Melvyn explains how GO1 is reshaping professional learning worldwide, likening it to a "Spotify for education."
🎯 Preparation Meets Opportunity: Melvyn reveals how being ready for key moments, like pitching to Microsoft, played a pivotal role in securing major investments.

Key Insights

🛠️ Building for Scale: Success doesn’t happen overnight. Melvyn emphasizes the importance of grit, adaptability, and a focus on solving real customer problems to scale a business.
📊 Luck Meets Preparation: While luck can open doors, preparation ensures you’re ready to walk through them. Melvyn highlights how this mindset helped GO1 secure key partnerships and funding.
👥 Co-Founders Matter: Melvyn underscores the value of having co-founders, especially during challenging times, to balance skills and share the load.
🌱 Creating Jobs Through Innovation: With a mission to create 100,000 jobs, Melvyn showcases how businesses can drive social impact alongside profitability.
🌈 Vision for African Entrepreneurship: Melvyn shares his hope for a future where African entrepreneurs create global solutions while championing the continent’s potential.
🧵 Adapting Your Offering: GO1’s shift from providing a learning platform to aggregating world-class content underscores the importance of listening to customers and evolving based on their needs.
📱 The Importance of Marketplaces: By creating a content marketplace, GO1 connected creators and consumers, boosting value for all stakeholders and driving revenue growth.

Vision for the Future
Melvyn Lubega envisions an Africa where technology drives education, opportunity, and impact. His story is a testament to what’s possible when passion, purpose, and preparation align.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a technologist, or someone passionate about Africa’s growth, this episode will leave you inspired and equipped to take bold steps toward your goals. 🎧

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